Talitha (

Classical Syriac The Syriac language (; syc, / '), also known as Syriac Aramaic (''Syrian Aramaic'', ''Syro-Aramaic'') and Classical Syriac ܠܫܢܐ ܥܬܝܩܐ (in its literary and liturgical form), is an Aramaic dialect that emerged during the first century ...

: ܛܠܝܼܬ݂ܵܐ/ܛܠܻܝܬ݂ܳܐ ''ṭlīṯā'' or ''ṭlīṯō'') is an uncommon feminine name given in reference to the

Biblical The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

story in the

Gospel of Mark The Gospel of Mark), or simply Mark (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). is the second of the four canonical gospels and of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells of the ministry of Jesus from his baptism by John the Baptist to ...

in which

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

was said to have resurrected a dead child with the words " Talitha cumi" or "Talitha kum" or "Talitha koum," often translated as "Little girl, I say to you, arise!" Some sources say the Aramaic word could be translated as ''little

lamb Lamb or The Lamb may refer to: * A young sheep * Lamb and mutton, the meat of sheep Arts and media Film, television, and theatre * ''The Lamb'' (1915 film), a silent film starring Douglas Fairbanks Sr. in his screen debut * ''The Lamb'' (1918 ...

'', while others say the word refers to a young

girl A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. When a girl becomes an adult, she is accurately described as a '' woman''. However, the term ''girl'' is also used for other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionar ...

History of usage

It was among many names taken from the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts o ...

that were used by

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. P ...

s in the

American colonial era The colonial history of the United States covers the history of European colonization of North America from the early 17th century until the incorporation of the Thirteen Colonies into the United States after the Revolutionary War. In the ...

. Talitha Cumi Elderkin Stiles, a schoolteacher, born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1779, was one of only three original settlers of

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U ...

who stayed there over the first winter of 1796–1797 when, attended by

Seneca Seneca may refer to: People and language * Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname * Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America ** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people Places Extrat ...

Native American women, she gave birth to Charles Stiles, the first white child born in the

Western Reserve The Connecticut Western Reserve was a portion of land claimed by the Colony of Connecticut and later by the state of Connecticut in what is now mostly the northeastern region of Ohio. The Reserve had been granted to the Colony under the terms o ...

. Six decades later, eleven-year-old Talitha Dunlap was among the between 120 and 140 men, women and children who were killed during the 1857

Mountain Meadows Massacre The Mountain Meadows Massacre (September 7–11, 1857) was a series of attacks during the Utah War that resulted in the mass murder of at least 120 members of the Baker–Fancher emigrant wagon train. The massacre occurred in the southern Ut ...

. The name ranked 1,108 among names given to American girls born in 1881. The name was also occasionally used in England by 1861, when the christening of a girl named Talitha-Cumi People was reported in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ...

''. It remains in occasional use in the United States and other countries. Sixty-eight newborn American girls were given the name in 2020, fifty-one newborn American girls were given the name in 2021 and thirty-five newborn American girls were given the name in 2022. Eight newborn Canadian girls were called Talitha in 2021. In Brazil, Talita (or Talitha/Thalita) was the 100th most common name for newborn girls in 2009.

Star name

While the personal name is most often derived from the Biblical story, Talitha is also the name of two

star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth make ...

s, Talitha Borealis and Talitha Australis, in the

Ursa Major Ursa Major (; also known as the Great Bear) is a constellation in the northern sky, whose associated mythology likely dates back into prehistory. Its Latin name means "greater (or larger) bear," referring to and contrasting it with nearby Ursa ...

constellation. The names of the stars are derived from the

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...

word for 'third' in the phrase () meaning 'The third leap f the gazelle">gazelle.html" ;"title="f the gazelle">f the gazelle, referring to an Arabic story about a startled gazelle which leapt three times to different points in the constellation.

People

*Talitha Bateman (born 2001), American actress *Talitha Cummins, Australian journalist *Talitha Diggs (born 2002), American athlete *Talitha Espiritu, Filipino author and academic known for her work on cinema during the Marcos dictatorship *

Talitha Gerlach Talitha A. Gerlach ( – Geng Lishu; 6 March 1896 – 12 February 1995) was an American YWCA worker who spent most of her life as a social worker in Shanghai, China, where she died. She received various awards from the Shanghai and Chinese governm ...

(1896-1995), American YWCA worker who spent most of her life as a social worker in Shanghai, China, where she died *

Talitha Getty Talitha Dina Getty (; 18 October 1940 – 11 July 1971) was a Dutch actress, socialite, and model who was regarded as a style icon of the late 1960s. She lived much of her adult life in Britain and, in her final years, was closely associated w ...

(1940-1971), Dutch actress, socialite, and model who was regarded as a style icon of the late 1960s *

Talitha Irakau Talitha Irakau (born 28 May 1995) is a Papua New Guinean footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, ...

(born 1995), Papua New Guinean footballer who plays as a defender *

Talitha MacKenzie Talitha MacKenzie (born on Long Island, New York) is a Scottish-American world music recording artist, and historical dance and music teacher and performer. Initially known as a vocalist in the original duo Mouth Music, she has maintained a solo c ...

, Scottish-American world music recording artist, and historical dance and music teacher and performer *

Talitha Stevenson Talitha Stevenson (born 1977) is an author and journalist, who grew up in West London. Fiction writer Stevenson is the author of three novels. Her work has been compared to Ian McEwan and Jonathan Franzen. Her first novel ''An Empty Room'', a c ...

(born 1977), British author and journalist *

Talitha Washington Talitha Washington (born 1974) is an American mathematician and academic who specializes in applied mathematics and STEM education policy.

(born 1974), American mathematician and academic

References

*Bardsley, Charles Wareing Endell (1880). ''Curiosities of Puritan Nomenclature'' Chatto and Windus.

Notes

{{reflist English feminine given names Feminine given names Telugu names